Hidden
away in the village of Heptonstall is a remarkable chapel.
It is the oldest Methodist Chapel still in continuous use
in the world and is one of only a few Octagonal ones to be
built.

A
tablet on the chapel wall states:

The
oldest Methodist Chapel in the world in continuous use.

The
society was founded
by William
Darney about 1742. The
Rev. John Wesley preached at
Heptonstall for the last time in 1786.

A
Scotsman, William Darney, was the first man to bring Methodism
to this area around 1742, along with the preaching of John
Nelson, a travelling stonemason. Local groups were formed
and were named "Darney Societies".

Charles
Wesley visited the area in 1747 and preached to them and later
the same year his brother John came to undertake how these
groups should be run. The
outcome was that in 1748 a meeting was held at Todmorden and
the first Methodist Circuit was formed.

Large
crowds always gathered wherever John Wesley preached and none
more so than in Heptonstall, where his appearances were always
eagerly awaited and well attended. This brought up the matter
of a chapel being built, so that the there would be a permanent
place for people to gather away from the harsh elements, which
inevitably interrupted the outdoor meetings.

Indoor
meetings were held from 1750 in the central building of three
cottages known as Litherstone in the village. It became known
as "The Preaching House" and it is thought that John Wesley
would have preached from the upstairs window to the congregation
assembled below

John
Wesley recommended that the new chapel be built in the octagonal
style and he laid the foundation stone himself. It was thought
that this design would distinguish it from the church and
avoid any conflict, as it was to be a preaching house. A total
of only fourteen octagonal chapels were built and three others
already in use were at Norwich, Rotherham and Whitby. It was
also thought that by building an octagonal shaped chapel,
the devil would have no corners to hide in.

The
roof for the new chapel was transported over Mount Skip by
packhorses and was built by the same craftsmen who had earlier
built the Rotherham chapel. As the
building neared completion, the trains of packhorses would
be followed by hundreds of worshippers, all in joyous mood
and singing the wonderful hymns that Wesley wrote. Whatever
the weather would have been; cold, windy, snowy, sunny or
rainy, it wouldn't have mattered to them as they followed
over the hills until they reached Heptonstall.

Mount
Skip

They
were having a new chapel built where they could congregate
and hear the greatest preacher of the day preach to them,
and how they thronged to listen to him. People would come
from far and near when they knew he would be preaching there
and all together he made 21 visits to the Heptonstall chapel.

The
chapel was finally finished in 1764 and people would attend
the church service first and then later they would have an
extra helping of religion by also going to the chapel.

In
1795, it was decided that a Sunday School should be opened,
as it was the only form of education that the poorer children
could get. Even then, it would only be a basic schooling in
reading and writing, but better than nothing. They
would meet in the chapel after services more than likely,
and huddle together for warmth, whilst they struggled to understand
what they were being taught. The
present day Sunday School is just below the chapel and wasn't
built until 1891.

By
1802 the Society had swelled to 337 members and over 1,000
scholars in the Sunday School. Things were beginning to feel
a little cramped and it was decided to extend the chapel and
it was done by "stretching" it. The original octagonal shape
was kept by pulling down one end and extending two side walls.
There is no trace of these alterations, so good was the workmanship,
just a slight difference in the stonework at the base on the
east side.

The
extra space created by this enlargement enabled a new raised
pulpit and a singing pew to be installed. The
new extension left the society in debt, but by 1804 they managed
to raise enough money to build a minister's house on Northgate.
(Shown below)

Worship
still goes on in this historic chapel. Well attended Sunday
services are the normal practice and perhaps John Wesley is
still in people's minds as they sing the hymns that have been
sung here for nearly 240 years.

War
Memorial

click on photo to enlarge

To
The Glory Of God

This
Tablet Was
Erected in Honour

Of
the young men of this Church and Sunday School

Who
served during the Great War 1914-1919

Rev.
A. A. Kick

John
W Greenwood

Fred
Greenwood

Ernest
Smith

Hartley
Greenwood

Walter
Sutcliffe

Richard
Hartley

Jeremiah
Cherry

Bert
Thomas

Fred
Greenwood

James
Varley

Ernest
Hardman

Willie
Jackson

Richard
Varley

James
W Holt

Thomas
Thomas

Thomas
Tupson

Edward
Wilde

Milton
Judson

Wright
Sutcliffe

Albert
Greenwood

Norris
Collinge

James
Dunkley

George
H Sunderland

James
Hartley

George
H Greenwood

Fielding
Sunderland

Harold
Robertshaw

Fred
Pickles

George
Smith

John
Smith

John
Thomas

Thomas
Lowe

Albert
E Dunkley

Herbert
Smith

James
Bowe

Fred
Collinge

Willie
Clough

James
Waddington

Arthur
Varley

Harry
Smith

Joseph
Leary

Willie
Patchett

John
Waddington

Herbert
Greenwood

Herbert
Helliwell

John
Greenwood

John
Hartley

Arthur
Wadsworth

Ernest
Thomas

Richard
Greenwood

James
Townsend

James
Pickles

Albert
Gunning

Herbert
Rastrick

Hardman
Robertshaw

Edward
J Sunderland

Sam
Townsend

James
Greenwood

Archie
Wilde

Wilfrid
Jackson

Richard
B Barker

John
Helliwell

James
Wilde

James
Bancroft

Ben
Collinge

Fred
Wilde

Robert
Greenwood

Willie
Smith

Ernest
Judson

IN
MEMORIAM

Fred
Greenwood

Herbert
Sutcliffe

John
Patchett

Thomas
R Ashworth

Willie
H Thomas

James
Robertshaw

Harry
Thomas

Burial
Ground

The
burial ground is very well maintained and is pretty. The graves
are easy to read, and the garden is lovely. A couple of graves
and inscriptions from the burial ground are detailed below:

In memory of Miles SUTCLIFFE of Barewise nr. Todmorden

Who died Oct 29th 1875 aged 67 years

Also of Betty SUTCLIFFE, his wife

Who died June 6th 1876 aged 67 years.

In
Loving Memory of my dear husband

Ernest
JUDSON of the West Riding Regt.

who was killed in action at Zonnebeke in Belgium

Nov.
25th 1917 aged 37 yrs.

In
the midst of life we are in death

In
Memory of Betty the daughter of Robert & Sally SUNDERLAND

of Todmorden who died Sept. 15th 1862 aged 14 yrs.

Also
of the above named Robert Fielding SUNDERLAND

who died Dec. 8th. 1872 aged 58 yrs.

Also
of Sally SUNDERLAND wife of the above

who
entered into rest Feb. 20th. 1876 aged 62 yrs.

They are not lost but gone before.

Death is swalled up in victory.

In
Memory of Thomas SUTCLIFFE

who
died in great peace April 18th 1833 aged 59 yrs.

He was converted to God in his 24th year. Was a class leader
34 years & a local preacher 26 years. Some of his last
words were: